“You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” –Samuel Johnson
This cultural studies course is offered as part of the European Council’s Study Abroad Program for London, Summer 2009. This course examines the idea of “London” in literature, architecture, visual art, technology, music, and film. We will study cultural texts that inform the ideological construction of “London” and visit some of the key places that define it as a historical place and a cultural construct. We’re interested not only in mainstream cultural expressions, but also those of “derelict” London, or the expressions of the many sub- and popular cultures of the city. How do these various expressions, combined with the physical structures of the city combine to to make a living, vibrant, and polysemous entity?
Links
A mandatory orientation is scheduled for May 18 at GCSU.
Methodology
What images pop into your mind when you hear “London”? Perhaps Big Ben; the Parliament; pubs; Shakespeare. What popular ideas surround the “United Kingdom”? Maybe the Queen; the royal family; the Coalition of the Willing; tea? How about “culture”? Museums; poetry; opera; stuff you don’t like much?
This cultural studies class, London as Text, will juxtapose popular notions of London that tend to present a unified idea of a culture with those that problematize and fragment that view. Through readings and field trips, we will examine “high” and “low” culture in an attempt to gain a more complex and critical understanding of “London,” both as an idea and a place. You will be encouraged to juxtapose dominant ideologies of London with those that are dominated.
The course texts are literary, representing my area of cultural expertise and interest. Yours can be another area — like music, architecture, dancing, cooking — that interests you about London. The assigned texts are meant to exemplify our critical approach to the subject of a textual London.
Course Texts
- Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia
- Graeme Turner’s British Cultural Studies: An Introduction
- Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (Norton Critical Edition)
- Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway
- Several PDF poems and short stories
Please print the PDFs and bring them and your books to orientation on May 18.
Recommended Materials
- Laptop with Wi-Fi card — you will want to be as paperless as possible (trust me)
- Digital Camera — for your personal use, but also for your project (see below)
- Portable Notebook and Pens — for taking class notes, but also for use on field trips
- Power Adapters — like this one
for plugging in your electronics; you might also bring a portable power strip
if you have multiple electronic gadgets
Requirements
Class Participation – Active participation in class discussion and on the class forum are required. I will often ask you to respond to a particular question on the class forum. You should use the forum as a place for informal discussion of the text. I will evaluate them as “pass” or “fail”; you should participate as much as you can in these discussions. Any other assignments not specified below will fall under participation.
Blog (Journal) – You will be required to keep a written journal of your reading and experiences in London. You should begin this journal when you begin your readings for the course and continue it through your study in London. This journal will be informal responses to assigned texts and field trips. All writing should attempt to address the class’ themes and focus: the cultural identity of London. You should sign up for an account on LitMUSE.edu. on Blogger or WordPress and send me the URL.
Project – The bulk of this course will require you to complete a research project that examines an aspect of the culture of London as tied to a specific place in London. Choose an aspect of British (London, specifically, if possible) that interests you and begin researching it while you’re still in the States and as you read Turner. You want to begin your analysis of it as a cultural text (see Turner, chapter 3). What you are also looking for is a place in London that most exemplifies this artistic form — a place that you can visit and experience first-hand in the city. You will then supplement your research with your specific experiences of the place. How does this particular text add to the narrative of “London”? That is: what narrative of “London” is represented in the place? How does the place add to the identity of “London”?
During the final week, you will be responsible for giving the class an informal report about your project.
Your project can be a traditional research paper, but I would prefer, since this is a cultural studies class, that you use your blog and incorporate multimedia elements to illustrate and support your writing. You should have a minimum of five sources — critical and cultural — and should be no more than ten, typed pages.
Policies
Aspects of the following policies may be untenable in a distance-learning environment, but please be aware of the tenor of each. I will always fall back on written policies if there is any contention.
- Assignments
- Attendance
- Class Time
- Deadlines
- Electronic Devices
- Grades
- Materials
- Notes
- Plagiarism
Schedule
For a more detailed account of field trips, see London as Text Field Trips. Each week of study is detailed below, but some of it should be finished before we leave for the UK, specifically the “reading” and “to do” sections for each week. The “field trip” and “follow up” assignments will be done in England. Classroom time will generally consist of discussing the assigned texts, so be sure they accompany you to class, even though you should have read them before going to London. You should have completed all of the reading and to-dos by 6/18/09.
Week 0: ASAP After Orientation
- Make an Account, including a blog Make a blog on Blogger or WordPress and send me the URL
- Make an account on Humanities Online
- Complete Your Profile; please include a picture Fill out your profile information on the Humanities Online
- Join the London as Text Group Class (I sent the enrollment key in an email)
- Write your first blog post: introduce yourself to your classmates
- Personalize your blog by setting the links and theme
- When you have accomplished the steps above, announce your blog and it’s URL on the London as Text Group wire send me the URL so I can post it
All “Reading” and “To Do” assignments should be finished in the States before leaving for London. The “Follow Up” will be a short assignment after your field trips.
Week 1: June 22-25
- Reading: Turner
- To Do: Blog entry, forum discussion
- Field Trip: Museum of London
- Follow Up: Blog entry
Week 2: June 29-July 2
- Reading: Wilde
- To Do: Blog entry, forum discussion
- Field Trip: Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar, Nation Portrait Gallery
- Follow Up: Blog entry
Week 3: July 6-9
- Reading: Woolf
- To Do: Blog entry, forum discussion
- Field Trip: Tower of London
- Follow Up: Blog entry
Week 4: July 13-16
- Reading: Kureishi
- To Do: Blog entry, forum discussion
- Field Trip: Tate Modern, Millennium Bridge, London Eye
- Follow Up: Blog entry
Week 5: July 20-23
- Informal Reports
- Projects Due
